1. Matthew 9:13 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does Jesus tell the Pharisees to go learn what the words “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” mean?

Matthew 9:13 (ESV)

13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In short

When Jesus (not Matthew, but Jesus himself) quotes Hosea 6:6a (I desire mercy, not sacrifice), he is not rejecting the Pharisees (yet), but inviting them to study the Scriptures: Go and learn what it means… The Pharisees had forgotten that love and mercy are at the heart of God's law (Matthew 23:23). Hosea 6:6 and the Psalms (Psalm 40:6-; Psalm 51:16–17) likewise teach that sacrifices are worthless when they are offered apart from loving and obedient hearts (see also James 1:27). Jesus’ quotation of Hosea 6:6 also condemns the Pharisees for not joining in Matthew’s feast of love for Jesus (see also Mark 2:13–17).

When Jesus commands the Pharisees to go and learn the meaning of the phrase I desire mercy, and not sacrifice this need not be taken as a rejection, but rather as a rabbinical admonition to go and study the Scriptures,1 for the phrase Jesus quotes is from Hosea 6:6a (see NKJV). It is therefore not Matthew the evangelist but Jesus himself who quotes from the Old Testament here.2

Jesus does not leave the Pharisees to their own fate, but also preaches about their particular need for a physician. This is why he commands them to go back to studying the Scriptures rather than spending time interrogating him. They outwardly maintained the law by bringing the right sacrifices on time, avoiding all actions that could make them unclean, thinking that this would put them right with God. At the same time, they forgot that showing love and mercy is the very heart of the law (Matthew 23:23), despite the fact that the Old (and later the New) Testament itself repeatedly points this out (see Hosea 6:6;Psalm 40:7, Psalm 51:16–17; James 1:27). While they rightly condemn the tax collectors and the sinners, they err by having no compassion upon them3 Yet Hosea’s prophecy not only serves to teach the Pharisees how their behavior towards others must look like, but rather what their attitude must be with regard to the revelation of Jesus’ mercy. By referring to Hosea 6:6, he condemns the Pharisees for their refusal to join Jesus’ banquet of love (see also Mark 2:13–17).4